Opal - The Birthstone of October

To win the heart of Cleopatra, the Roman general Mark Anthony gave her the Opal that she craves.

To impress the Empress of Josephine, Napoleon gave her a shining opal called "Burning Troy."

Queen Victoria regards Opal as a social necessity and sends this beautiful gem to the royal family all around the world.

It can be seen that in order to win the heart of a queen, you must have an opal.

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Opal | The Queen of Gems

The modern name of the gem opal comes from the Latin "opalus" and the Greek Opallios, which both mean "to see a colour change".

Because of the special internal structure, each Opal shows a fantastic play-of-colour, which is the only natural gem in the world that can reflect all the colours in the spectrum. When you look at the same Opal from different angles, it shines in different colours.

People praised it as "God's oil painting" and "the rainbow of the world". In “Twelfth Night”, Shakespeare described it as "tis that miracle and queen of gems".

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Opal | Praise in History

Opal began to sweep the world around the 19th century, but its history can be traced back to BC.

The people of the ancient Roman Empire considered it a powerful gem. They called it the son of Cupid and treating it as a symbol of hope and purity. The ancient Roman scholar Pliny once marvelled this kaleidoscopic gem, “Some opali carry such a play within them that they equal the deepest and richest colours of painters. Others…simulate the flaming fire of burning sulphur and even the bright blaze of burning oil.”

The early Greeks believed the opal bestowed powers of foresight and prophecy upon its owner, also, it can make the gods happy.

In Arabian folklore, it is said that the stone fell from heaven in flashes of lightning.

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Opal | White and Black Opal

There are many kinds of natural opal, like White Opal, black opal, boulder opal and crystal opal.

One interesting point is that white opal is not white, and Black Opal is not black. The white Opal is actually milky white, and Black Opal looks like dark blue and black overall and you won’t see a trace of black in a piece of high-quality black opal.

Boulder Opal can be White Opal or Black Opal. It is accompanied by natural iron ore and is inseparable. The colour will appear more vivid and changeable.

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Opal | National Gemstone of Australia

Australia was still under the ocean 130 million years ago. After millions of years of geological changes and rock deposition, silica was attached to various marine fossils in a beautiful way, forming the opal fossils we see today. Such a brilliant colour.

Australia produces the most beautiful opal in the world. Today, Australia has dominated opal production with more than 95% of the global output, and it has become one of Opal's most precious and valuable major producers. Coober Pedy, Andamooka and Mintabie are all famous for producing the world's best opal. The beautiful and rare Black Opal is currently only produced in the Lightning Ridge mine in New South Wales. Therefore, Opal is the Australian’s national gemstone.

Opal is one of the most precious six gemstones and the new love of gem lovers. If you love this colourful world, you would definitely love Opal.

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